Visit the Parker Hannifin Electromechanical Automation web site

DIN Rail fast track approach to motion control

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Nov 20, 2000

Users wishing to adopt a new fast track approach to motion control can now employ the new Parker DIN Rail Stepper Range of drives from BSL Engineering.

Users wishing to adopt a new fast track approach to motion control can now employ the new Parker DIN Rail Stepper Range of drives from BSL Engineering.

The Stepper Drive Range is believed to be the first motion control system in the world to employ stackable docking stations that mount on a standard DIN rail, with plug-in drive modules.

The benefits of the system include fast and simple installation, flexible expansion capabilities, ease of integration and maintenance.

The DIN Rail Stepper Drive system comprises one or more docking stations, together with a power supply module if the application requires high voltage drive modules, all of which mount on a standard DIN rail.

Installation is simply a matter of stacking Stepper Drive units horizontally along the DIN rail in the equipment cabinet, and then using the system's built-in-rack-and-pinion interlock to secure them together as a single assembly.

Each DIN Rail Stepper Drive module is available with a choice of four power ratings, making it easy to match the requirements of the application.

There are two 75V drives, with current ratings of 2.5A and 5A, and two 170V drives, with current ratings of 8A and 12A.

Any number of docking stations and drive modules can be used in a system, subject only to the instantaneous power demands of all axes being met by the power supply.

DIN Rail Stepper modules are available as basic units with step-and-direction inputs, or as intelligent units fitted with a state-of-the-art position controller.

The controller offers both RS232 and RS485 serial communications as standard, with a selectable baud rate of 9600 or 19200, and can also be fitted with a CANbus option.

It can handle position data in the range �1 to �2,147,483,647 steps, velocities in the range 0.01 to 50 revs/sec and acceleration rates from 0.1 to 1024 revs/sec/sec.

The program language significantly expands upon Parker's renowned X-code language, by supporting both sequential and event-driven code; this enables extremely powerful run-time control functions to be implemented with the minimum of programming effort, whilst retaining the familiar 'look and feel' of X-code.

This highly efficient structured approach to motion control programming offers a number of significant advantages: it provides a fully scaleable solution for both simple and complex applications, encourages the generation of efficient, fast-executable code, and is inherently self-documenting, making it easy for system developers and maintenance personnel to understand the program logic.

The position controller's extensive I/O facilities are expressly designed for robustness and use 24V levels throughout, ensuring a high degree of noise immunity and compatibility with virtually all PLC's on the market.

Dedicated inputs are provided for high-speed registration, 0-10V analogue speed control or �10V speed-direction control, and position tracking and stall detection from encoder feedback.

All DIN Rail Stepper Range system components comply with the Low-Voltage Directive, and are CE-marked accordingly.

Additionally customers seeking full EMC compliance can obtain installation kits and comprehensive installation instructions from BSL Engineering.